AIDC 2024 to unlock over $260,000 in Funding, Prizes & Support for Documentary Projects & Practitioners

We are proud to reveal that as a result of a suite of exciting industry initiatives with key partners, AIDC 2024 has so far unlocked over $260,000 in project development, awards, prizes and professional development opportunities for new nonfiction content and support for documentary practitioners. 

Contributors include pitch partners Screen Australia, Shark Island Foundation and The Post Lounge; Awards partnerships with AFTRS, Deakin Motion Lab and Film Finances; FACTory pitch prize partners; and Leading Lights industry donors. 

Partnerships and development programs are the foundation of AIDC’s mission to support and elevate nonfiction storytelling, by actively generating new work, fostering new talent, and establishing new pathways for industry growth. 

Attending AIDC 2024 will give those working in documentary and factual an array of concrete opportunities to move projects forward, skill up, and expand their professional connections.

AIDC PITCH INITIATIVES

In 2024, the AIDC Marketplace sees the return of three popular industry pitching initiatives for Australian screen creators:

> the Fresh Cuts Documentary Pitch, AIDC and Screen Australia’s pitch for documentary content for young adult audiences, with six projects in the running for up to $30,000 per project in Screen Australia development funds.

> the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch, for feature documentaries aimed at shifting thinking and bringing about social change, now with a doubled amount of up to $100,000 in development grants available. 

> The Post Lounge Doc Pitch for documentary features, one-offs or series across any genre, with up to $30,000 worth of development investment through post-production available, to be used for a sizzle, teaser or pilot.

CURATED PITCH MEETINGS

These opportunities complement the potential commissions, development and sales deals resulting from AIDC’s curated pitch meetings programs, now bolstered by a new slate pitch.

> AIDC’s curated pitch meetings marketplace, Cut to the Chase, efficiently matches producers and decision makers for productive meetings, with over 500 meetings scheduled each year. 

> AIDC 2024 also sees the debut of The Showroom, a brand-new slate-pitching opportunity for established Australian production companies with multiple documentary and/or factual projects in development.

A large contingent of national and international decision makers will participate in AIDC 2024 – both in-person and online – as they search for new content, including representatives from BBC Storyville (UK), Prime Video (Australia), Participant (USA), DW (Germany), ARTE G.E.I.E (France), NHK Enterprises (Japan), Autlook Filmsales (Austria), CBC (Canada), National Geographic (USA), Channel 4 (UK) and many more

Delegates must be registered with a Business Pass or All Access Pass to participate in the marketplace and pitch projects. Showroom applications close Friday 22 December 2023, and Cut to the Chase project submissions close Sunday 28 January 2024.

AIDC AWARDS PRIZES

The fourth annual AIDC Awards, to be held on the closing night of AIDC 2024 (6 March), will see cash prizes provided across four categories, acknowledging the outstanding work of Australian nonfiction creators. 

These include a $5,000 cash prize presented by Film Finances for Best Feature Documentary, a $3,000 cash prize presented by AFTRS for Best Audio Documentary, and a $3,000 cash prize presented by Deakin Motion Lab for Best Interactive/Immersive Documentary.

AIDC will also present, for the first time, the $5,000 AIDC Southern Light Award, presented to an Australian industry professional for their outstanding contribution to nonfiction screen, digital and/or audio media. 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

AIDC’s professional development programs continue to provide career-defining opportunities for diverse voices and perspectives in the nonfiction sector. This year AIDC is proud to offer:

> The Leading Lights Program for emerging, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, d/Deaf, disabled or neurodiverse, and/or culturally and linguistically diverse practitioners, providing a donor-funded pathway into the nonfiction screen sector via first-time attendance at AIDC.

> The Indigenous Creators Program, a dedicated strand of sessions and marketplace activities designed by and for First Nations practitioners to come together and elevate the craft and business of First Nations stories.

Professional pitch training and project mentoring is also central to a number of AIDC programs, including the FACTory International Pitching Showcase, Fresh Cuts Documentary Pitch, and Leading Lights Program.

Plus, participation in AIDC’s FACTory International Pitching Showcase provides practitioners with the chance to take their projects to international marketplaces via prizes provided by Germany’s DOK Leipzig, Indonesia’s Docs by the Sea, New Zealand’s Doc Edge, Canada’s Hot Docs, the UK’s Sheffield DocFest, and France’s Sunny Side of the Doc.

And finally, access to the full scope of professional development opportunities provided by AIDC is supported by subsidised passes for particular participants, including Leading Lights, and state screen agency programs such as VicScreen’s AIDC 2024 First Peoples Creators Passes. 

2024 PROGRAM

Complementing an essential marketplace and array of professional development opportunities, the full AIDC 2024 schedule of sessions and panels – including the return of the Documented public screening program in partnership with ACMI – will be announced on Wednesday 31 January 2023.

International speaking guests already announced include Mstyslav Chernov (Ukraine, director, 20 Days in Mariupol) and Nainita Desai (UK, composer, The Deepest Breath), with many more to be announced.

A variety of pass types covering access to the marketplace, networking opportunities and the session program are available now.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR AIDC 2024

Main Image: AIDC 2023 | Photo: William Hamilton-Coates